The merging of the other party's soul with Flandre's had a profound effect; it made her more human and gave her a sense of right and wrong. This was an undeniably good thing for Flandre. At the very least, it allowed her to integrate into human society more quickly. Furthermore, according to Flandre, she had been here for over a year, and the other soul had long since fused with hers. Consequently, unless that soul caused significant contamination to Flandre's body or mind, both Patchouli Knowledge and Eirin Yagokoro believed it was unnecessary to intervene.
Seeing her trusted friends reach this conclusion, Remilia also felt a wave of relief. After the adults finished their serious discussions, Flandre looked up pitifully and asked Remilia if she would have to go back like last time.
Remilia reached out and rubbed Flandre's cheek affectionately. "Silly girl, where you are is home. If you want to play here, then just play here!" Remilia made it clear that if Flandre wanted to stay, she was more than welcome to.
"Flandre, you've been here the longest and know the most about this place. Why don't you introduce it to us?" Patchouli suggested. Flandre nodded eagerly, told everyone to wait, and scurried back to the vehicle. She retrieved a world map and ran back to the group.
"This is the map of Terra. We are roughly here now, and the place we're going is here! It's also where Sister came last time," Flandre said, pointing to two distinct spots.
"Is this Ancient Chinese?" Eirin Yagokoro asked, peering at the text on the map.
"Mhm, but some of it is already the same as Modern Chinese, just with a different writing style," Flandre explained. She pointed to Yan above. "For example, this is Yan." Then she pointed to the upper right. "This is Higashi." Finally, she pointed to the country they were currently standing in: "Leithanien."
Eirin Yagokoro, possessing exceptional intelligence, quickly grasped the linguistic patterns. "Indeed, Yanese is like Modern Chinese written in the Small Seal Script method, so it looks a bit strange. However, once you get used to it, it's quite simple."
"That's fine, Leithanien and Victoria languages are even simpler," Flandre said, picking up a piece of paper and scribbling rapidly. "See, this is Leithanien, and this is Victoria."
The others looked over. To their eyes, it looked like German and English—and a version that was several centuries old at that. But coincidentally, everyone present was ancient, so they recognized this archaic English and German perfectly.
"So Leithanien is Germany, Victoria is England, Yan is like acient China, Ursus is Russia... then Higashi?" Yukari Yakumo looked at the upper right corner.
"Japan." Flandre answered straightforwardly.
"I see," everyone said, immediately understanding the parallels. They looked at the other countries. Columbia was understandable—likely the United States of North America—but what about Iberia, Siracusa, Kjerag, and Kazimierz?
"Siracusa is dominated by gangs and families; even the actual controllers are families, so that's Italy," Flandre noted.
"As for Iberia, I have a guess," Patchouli added. "Another name for the Spanish Peninsula is the Iberian Peninsula. Based on names like Victoria and Columbia, I think Iberia probably refers to Spain." She then looked at a small, dot-like country in the center. "Kjerag is in the middle, and it's a snowy mountain... Switzerland?" Patchouli wasn't certain, but Switzerland was the most likely comparison. "Kazimierz... it might be one of the Eastern European countries. More information is needed to confirm."
The group nodded, agreeing with her deductions.
"So, these Terra nations are actually related to some countries in our world? That's too strange; after all, this world and Earth don't seem to be in the same starfield!" Eirin Yagokoro said, her expression becoming very serious. If only one place were similar, it could be an accident. But for Terra to mirror Earth so thoroughly was bizarre. It made her suspect that this world was fake—perhaps a construct created by a great power. She and Yukari Yakumo exchanged a meaningful glance. While many in Gensokyo could create worlds, none could act as a true Creator, sustaining a world's stable development and population. However, they were not in a hurry; they had just arrived, and youkai lives were long.
That evening, Zhang Wei organized a welcome party for Flandre's family and friends. The Gensokyo group accepted. Banquets were an indispensable part of their culture. Ibuki Suika, the drunkard, made the party her main stage before it was halfway through. Holding her wine gourd, she was everywhere. Initially, the convoy members were embarrassed to be toasted by a young woman, but after two rounds, she was calling everyone "brother." With Suika warming up the atmosphere, everyone quickly became familiar. Flandre leaned against Remilia, overjoyed that everyone was playing together without quarreling.
While the convoy celebrated, the Ursus Fourth Army Group was in a state of absolute chaos. News reached headquarters an hour after the battle. They heard that not only was their regiment scattered, but the two High-speed Battleships—the Lookout and the Ironlily—were completely destroyed.
No one believed it. For hundreds of years, the truth of Terra was that only a battleship could fight a battleship. Now, they were being told the enemy had dismantled two with their bare hands? It was mythic. Some officers even suspected treason rather than believe the reports.
Soon, a reconnaissance squad arrived with drones. Through the drone's vision, the command center fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Two unrecognizable "iron coffins" stood on the edge of the battlefield. They were indeed the Lookout and the Ironlily. The field was strewn with corpses and pockmarked with craters. It looked like several artillery regiments had conducted a saturation bombing.
"Damn it, why is this happening? Have Leithanien and Yan joined forces?" they wondered. They knew Yan didn't have the numbers, but the proximity to Leithanien suggested a secret alliance.
"Impossible! Look at the damage," an officer noted. "This one is full of holes—extremely strong penetrating wounds. Leithanien's weapons can't do this. The other one is even more terrifying... look at this deformed shape. Doesn't it look like a fist print?"
The staff officers stared at the screen. "A fist print? How is that possible? This print is ten meters wide. A ten-meter fist would belong to someone a hundred and fifty meters tall. Is that even a person?"
But then, someone pointed to a large print on the ground. "Look at that mark. If that's a f
Shoeprint..."
The room fell silent. If it were a shoeprint, the fist was real. It meant a battleship had been flattened by a giant over a hundred meters tall. The thought of a hundred-meter enemy—a secret weapon of Yan—brought a sense of despair. Ursus had long wanted to deal with Yan, but this "secret weapon" changed everything. The transport team was no longer their priority; the existence of a giant that could destroy battleships was now a matter of paramount importance.
At this time, the Twin Empresses of Zwillingstürme also received news. "Oh, what were their losses?" Lieselotte asked.
"Reporting to Your Majesties... according to intelligence, there were no losses."
Lieselotte's eyes lifted. She took the report. The convoy was undamaged, with no casualties and all vehicles accounted for. "Huh, impossible. Did those Ursus people not attack them?"
She didn't believe it for a second. "According to reports, there were continuous explosions and battle sounds from the east for half an hour. However, because it wasn't in our territory, our scouts didn't investigate immediately. News should be back soon."